Recently, with the development of Internet communication and network technology, the communication technology field has been developed very rapidly. Alongside such a development, the amount of data communication used between users has also greatly increased. Accordingly, the development of a system capable of transmitting a larger amount of data for a shorter time has now been highlighted as an important subject.
One of important factors in data transmitting is the data transfer rate. Data transfer rate refers to the amount of digital data transferred from one location to another location over a given time (generally, per second). Generally, the wider the bandwidth of a given path is, the higher the data transfer rate is. Data transmission in communication is typically measured in Bits Per Second (BPS). For example, the typical rate of Internet access by using a modem is about 56 Kbps, and the rate of data transmission conducted through a local area network, such as the Ethernet, is about 10 Mbps.
Another important factor in data transmission, together with the data transfer rate, is the number of lines through which data can be transmitted. The term “line” refers to, in brief, a path along which data is transferred when data transmission is performed between respective devices. For sure, it is apparent that a method of dividing and transmitting data using a plurality of lines improves the data transfer rate compared to a method of transmitting data using a single line.
In a case of transmitting data between a server and a client where equivalent lines through are exist between the server and the client, the prior art generally uses a method of distributing data packets having same amount of data into the existing equivalent lines. For example, if there are four lines and data composed of eight packets exists, the prior art uses a method of transmitting data by distributing two packets to each line. Alternatively, the prior art may use a method of setting a distribution ratio of data packets for respective lines through the user's manual manipulation and distributing data packets for respective lines using the distribution ratio.
However, when a plularity of lines are present between the server and the client, the bandwidths of the respective lines are not identical to each other, so that transfer rates for respective lines may be differently measured. As a result, when data packets having the same amount of data are distributed to the plularity of lines, as in the case of the prior art, there is a problem in that the maximum efficiency in data transfer rate cannot be realized.
Meanwhile, the distribution of data packets through the user's manual manipulation is also limited in that the bandwidths of respective lines are not always maintained at uniform values but may be varied due to changes in the surrounding environment or the like, so that distributing data packets are not always efficiently.